- 1 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:47488 WP No. 23931 of 2025 IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU DATED THIS THE 17TH DAY OF NOVEMBER, 2025 BEFORE THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE S.R.KRISHNA KUMAR WRIT PETITION NO. 23931 OF 2025 (T-IT) BETWEEN: PARANKUSHACHAR INSTITUTE OF VEDIC STUDIES, RESPRESENTED BY ITS SECRETARY, SRI. M.T. RAGHAVAN, SON OF M.S THIRUMALACHARIYAR, AGED ABOUT 65 YEARS, NO.722, 5TH D MAIN, II BLOCK, KALYAN NAGAR, BENGALURU – 560 043 PAN: AAATP3733B …PETITIONER (BY SRI. A. SHANKAR, SENIOR COUNSEL FOR SRI. MADHUSUDHAN U. A., ADVOCATE) AND: 1. UNION OF INDIA THROUGH THE SECRETARY, MINISTRY OF FINANCE, DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE, GOVERNMENT OF INDIA, NORTH BLOCK, NEW DELHI – 110 001 2. MINISTRY OF FINANCE, THROUGH THE SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE, GOVERNMENT OF INDIA, NORTH BLOCK, NEW DELHI – 110 001. 3. THE CENTRAL BOARD OF DIRECT TAXES, REPRESENTED BY ITS CHAIRPERSON, GOVERNMENT OF INDIA, MINISTRY OF FINANCE, DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE, NORTH BLOCK, NEW DELHI – 110 001 Digitally signed by MADHURI S Location: High Court of Karnataka - 2 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:47488 WP No. 23931 of 2025 4. THE PRICNIPAL CHIEF COMMISSIONER OF INCOME-TAX (EXEMPTIONS), ROOM NO 2503, 25TH FLOOR, E2 BLOCK, CIVIC CENTRE, MINTO ROAD, NEW DELHI, NEW DELHI – 110 002 5. THE COMMISSIONER OF INCOME-TAX (EXEMPTIONS), UNITY BUILDING ANNEXE, MISSION ROAD, BENGALURU – 560 027 …RESPONDENTS (BY SMT. K. SAROJINI, ADVOCATE FOR R1 & R2; SRI. ARAVIND V. CHAVAN, ADVOCATE FOR R3 TO R5) THIS W.P. IS FILED UNDER ARTICLES 226 AND 227 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA PRAYING TO ISSUE A WRIT OF CERTIORARI OR A DIRECTION IN THE NATURE OF WRIT OF CERTIORARI QUASHING THE ORDER UNDER SECTION 119(2)(B) OF THE INCOME TAX ACT, 1961 DATED 12.12.2023 FOR THE ASSESSMENT YEAR 2018-19 PASSED BY THE RESPONDENT NO.4 BEARING DIN NO. ITBA/COM/F/17/2023-24/1058694203(1) HEREIN MARKED AS ANNEXURE – A AND ETC., THIS PETITION, COMING ON FOR ORDERS, THIS DAY, ORDER WAS MADE THEREIN AS UNDER: CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE S.R.KRISHNA KUMAR ORAL ORDER In this petition, petitioner seeks for the following reliefs:- “a) Issue a writ of certiorari or a direction in the nature of writ of certiorari quashing the order under section 119(2)(b) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 dated 12.12.2023 for the assessment year 2018-19 passed by the Respondent No.4 bearing DIN No. - 3 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:47488 WP No. 23931 of 2025 ITBA/COM/F/17/2023-24/1058694203(1) herein marked as Annexure - A. b) Issue a writ of certiorari or a direction in the nature of writ of certiorari quashing the order under section 119(2)(b) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 dated 22.04.2025 for the assessment year 2018-19 passed by the Respondent No.5 bearing DIN & Letter No. ITBA/COM/F/17/2025-26/1075723619(1) herein marked as Annexure B. c) Issue a writ of mandamus or certiorari quashing Para No.3 of the Circular No. 16/2024 in F.No.197/693/2024-ITA-1 dated 18.11.2024 issued by the Respondent No.3 to the extent the same imposes limitation for filing application for condonation of delay for the assessment year 2018-19 herein marked as Annexure C. d) Issue a writ of mandamus or a direction in the nature of writ of mandamus directing to the Respondents to condone the delay in filing the Form 10B for the assessment year 2018-19 and process the income tax return in accordance with the provisions of the Act. e) And pass such other orders as this Hon'ble Court deems fit and proper in the interest of justice and equity.” 2. Heard learned counsel for both parties and perused the material on record. - 4 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:47488 WP No. 23931 of 2025 3. A perusal of the material on record will indicate that the issue in controversy involved in the present petition is directly and squarely covered by the decision of this Court in the case of M/s. Sree Dharmasasta Ayyappa Religious Trust Vs. The Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax (E) and another – W.P.No.19556/2024, dated 24.09.2024, which reads as under: “In this petition, petitioner seeks the following reliefs: “i) Issue a writ of certiorari or a direction in the nature of writ of certiorari quashing the order under section 119(2)(b) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (for short ‘the Act’) dated 12/10/2023 passed by the Respondent No.1 in ITBA/COM/F/17/2023-24/1056998435(1) for the assessment year 2018-19 (Annexure-A). ii) Issue a writ of certiorari or a direction in the nature of writ of certiorari quashing the intimation passed U/s 143(1) dated 30/09/2019, passed by the Respondent No.2 bearing CPC/1819/A7/1908982493 for the assessment year 2018-19 (Annexure-C). iii) Issue a writ of certiorari or a direction in the nature of writ of certiorari quashing the intimation passed U/s 154 dated 02/01/2020, passed by the Respondent No.2 bearing CPC/1819/U7/1969926996 for the assessment year 2018-19 (Annexure-G). iv) Issue a writ of mandamus or a direction in the nature of writ of mandamus directing to the respondents to condone the delay in filing the audit report dt. 03/12/2019 for the assessment year 2018-19 (Annexure-E). v) And pass such other orders as this Hon’ble Court deems fit and proper in the interest of justice and equity.” 2. A perusal of the material on record indicate that the petitioner is a Trust involved in religious and - 5 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:47488 WP No. 23931 of 2025 charitable activities and submitted his income tax returns for the assessment year 2018-19 on 26.03.2019. The said returns having been processed, the respondents intimated the petitioner that the audit report in Form-10B applicable to the petitioner-Trust had not been submitted along with the income tax returns and called upon the petitioner to submit the same. In response thereto, the petitioner submitted the said audit report in Form-10B along with an application dated 20.06.2023 invoking Section 119(2)(b) of the I.T. Act seeking condonation of delay in submitting the said audit report. It was contended that the inability and omission on the part of the petitioner to submit the said audit report along with the income tax returns was due to bonafide reasons, unavoidable circumstances and sufficient cause, since the same was not made available to the petitioner-Trust by its auditor/accountant. The said application having was considered by the respondent, who declined to condone the delay and accordingly, passed the impugned order dated 12.10.2023, rejecting the application for condonation of delay, aggrieved by which the petitioner is before this Court by way of the present petition. 3. Per contra, learned counsel for the respondents submits that there is no merit in the petition and the same is liable to be dismissed. 4. A perusal of the material on record will indicate that it is an undisputed fact that the petitioner is a Public Charitable and Religious Trust carrying on charitable and religious activities. It is also not in dispute that the petitioner - 6 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:47488 WP No. 23931 of 2025 had submitted its income tax returns within the prescribed period i.e., on 26.03.2019 as a Trust. Under these circumstances, in the light of the specific assertion on the part of the petitioner that its inability and omission to submit the audit report in From-10B along with its income tax returns was due to bonafide reasons, unavoidable circumstances and sufficient cause, I am of the view that the petitioner had demonstrated and established genuine hardship and circumstances beyond its control, which prevented it from submitting the audit report along with the I.T. returns. Under these circumstances, the impugned order, which proceeds on a hyper technical approach deserves to be set aside and by adopting a justice oriented approach, in the light of the undisputed fact that the petitioner is Religious and Charitable Trust, it would be just, proper and expedient to set aside the impugned order and allow the application filed by the petitioner for condonation of delay and issue further directions in this regard. 5. In the result, the following order is passed : ORDER (i) Petition is hereby allowed; (ii) The impugned order at Annexure-A dated 12.10.2023 passed by respondent No.1 is hereby set aside; (iii) The application filed by the petitioner under section 119 (2)(b) dated 20.06.2023 is hereby allowed and the delay on the part of the petitioner in submitting the audit report in Form-10B is hereby condoned; - 7 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:47488 WP No. 23931 of 2025 (iv) Respondent no.2 is directed to accept the income tax returns as well as Audit Report in Form-10B filed by the petitioner as if it was filed within the due date and proceed further, in accordance with law.” 4. In view of the fact that the aforesaid order is applicable to the facts and circumstances of the instant case, the present petition also deserves to be disposed of in terms of the decision of this Court in M/s. Sree Dharmasasta Ayyappa Religious Trust’s case (supra). 5. In the result, I pass the following: ORDER (i) The petition is allowed in terms of the decision of this Court in the case of M/s. Sree Dharmasasta Ayyappa Religious Trust Vs. The Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax (E) and another – W.P.No.19556/2024, dated 24.09.2024. (ii) The impugned order at Annexure-A dated 12.12.2023 passed by respondent No.4 and the impugned order at Annexure-B dated 22.04.2025 passed by respondent No.5 are hereby quashed. - 8 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:47488 WP No. 23931 of 2025 (iii) The application filed by the petitioner under Section 119(2)(b) dated 14.09.2021 is hereby allowed and the delay on the part of the petitioner in submitting the audit report in Form-10B is hereby condoned. (iv) The concerned respondent is directed to accept the income tax returns as well as Audit Report in Form-1-B filed by the petitioner as if it was filed within the due date and proceed further, in accordance with law. Sd/- (S.R.KRISHNA KUMAR) JUDGE BMC List No.: 2 Sl No.: 33